Market traders urged to support food warning labels campaign

Traders and consumers in the Central Region have been urged to support calls for the introduction of mandatory front-of-package warning labels on packaged food products to help consumers identify foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.

She said a mandatory front-of-package warning label would alert consumers immediately when a product exceeded recommended levels of sugar, salt or unhealthy fats, rather than requiring them to interpret complicated nutrition information at the back of the package.

He said many packaged foods could contain high levels of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, which consumers would not immediately recognise from existing nutrition information on the packaging.